We Love the Love

We're jumping back to the franchises of yore with a look at Blake Edwards's original 1964 Pink Panther film, starring David Niven and Peter Sellers in gradually shifting levels of significance.  Join in as we discuss our favorite cinematic gems, the movie's superb opening credits, the 1974 Oscars streaker, and 2003's Loony Tunes: Back in Action .  Plus: How did the Clouseaus get together...

We're continuing our look at queer cinema of the twenty-first century by assessing the romance of writer-director Dee Rees's narrative debut, Pariah .  Join in as we discuss Rees's career, the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, DP Bradford Young, and the film's nuanced portrayal of parents.  Plus: What are the best strip clubs in cinema? How did Will recognize Charles Parnell? And, most import...

We're together with our summer crew celebrating Pride Month, Jane Austen, and new releases as we take a look at the romance of Fire Island , the new queer Pride and Prejudice adaptation directed by Andrew Ahn and written by Joel Kim Booster, who stars alongside Bowen Yang.  Join in as we discuss resort movies, Booster's and Yang's careers, and, of course, Quibi.  Plus, a host of We Love...

We're celebrating the end of the Jurassic Era with a look at the series first threequel, Joe Johnston's Jurassic Park III .  Join in as we discuss summer reading, steaming poops, Stan Winston's special effects, and Billy's poor paleontology skills.  Plus: What versions of this movie almost got made? Did Grant and Sattler ever date? What happened to that guy from the boat? And, most importantly, ca...

We're throwing back to the romances of classic horror with a look at Jacques Tourneur's 1942 classic Cat People , about a woman who turns into, well, a cat.  Join in as we discuss producer Val Lewton's horror unit at RKO, the film's complicated ideas about sexuality, and the validity of a zookeeper's prophecies.  Plus: Is any of the movie's Serbian history worth listening to? How were Ca...

We're headed into the danger zone as we celebrate the long-delayed release of Top Gun: Maverick by looking at the romance of Tony Scott's original air combat school film, which topped box office charts in 1986.  Join in as we discuss upsetting non-kisses, fictional countries, corporate synergy, and abundant homoeroticism.  Plus: What role did Top Gun play in the home video market of the...

We're continuing our look at the Best Picture nominees of 1988 with a look at Lawrence Kasdan's The Accidental Tourist , starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, and Geena Davis in the role that won her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress!  Join in as we discuss incompetent adults, Kathleen Turner's voice (and voice acting), alphabetical groceries, and an early manic pixie dream girl performance. ...

We're burning up the pavement as we search for barely-there romance in the 2013 DreamWorks Animation snail racing movie Turbo , starring Ryan Reynolds as a snail who dreams of Indy cars.  Join in as we discuss animals playing sports, snail economics, the Air Bud franchise, and answer a listener email about the new Puss in Boots film.  Plus: How did Turbo get to the highway? Why did that...

We're talking about movies for grownups this week as we look at the empty-nest relationship between HBO legends Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini in Nicole Holofcener's 2013 rom-com Enough Said !  Join in as we discuss this (and many other movies') reception by AARP, appropriate brunch attire, a wonderfully awkward non-kiss, and Gandolfini's incredible posthumous performance.  Plu...

Will and Marc are both looking for planning tips as they take a look at the industry romance of Frank Coraci's 1998 rom com classic, The Wedding Singer !  Join in as we discuss weird wedding stories, butt mitzvahs, practice kisses, a comically villainous boyfriend, and a specific episode of The Goldbergs .  Plus: What is this movie's secret sauce? Why did Linda come back to Robbie? Is Sp...

We're saying "Oh hi" to Marc as we finally tackle the the torrid romance of Tommy Wiseau's 2003 disasterpiece, The Room !  Join in as we discuss midnight movies, comparisons to our beloved Birdemic , Tommy's post- Room career, and a surprise appearance by Ask Amy.  Plus: Who is Steven? Does Denny know about sex? Where did Tommy's money come from? And is Chris-R an alien?  Make sure...

We've tracked down another of our white whales, having gotten ahold of the 1987 department store rom com Mannequin via DCPL's DVD collection.  Join in as we discuss Kim Cattrall, sequel titles, animated credits, and department store finances.  Plus: Are the Egyptian gods real? What does Emy want? Will Avatar 2 come out this year? And, most importantly, what are the rules???  Make su...

We're on a tour of the best transit options as we meander through the romance on Richard Linklater's 1995 Sundance classic Before Sunrise , starring Ethan Hakwe and Julie Delpy.  Join in as we discuss our best all-nighters, our Linklater experiences, and the movie's exciting structure.  Plus: What is the sequence of the Before movies? What kind of insurance does Linklater's Merrily We Ro...

We're easing out of the Oscars with a Best Picture nominee from ten years ago, David O. Russell's adaptation of Silver Linings Playbook !  Join in as we discuss peak Jennifer Lawrence, diner dates, Abbott Elementary , and this movie's surprising darkness.  Plus: Why did Nicky and her lover set up a boombox? Why did Pat's brother buy him an away jersey? Why are Pat and Tiffany in competit...

In preparation for the 94th Academy Awards next Sunday night, we're rating the believability of the romance in all ten of this year's Best Picture nominees, from Belfast to West Side Story .  Join in as we discuss Jamie Dornan's 2021, the timeline of Licorice Pizza , the true villain of West Side Story , and the impending #OscarsFanFavorite debacle.  Plus: Why doesn't Don't Look Up work? What is M...

We're taking a long look at the age of our youth as we examine the on- and off-the-field romance of the 2006 Shakespeare modernization She's the Man , starring Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum as star-crossed roommates.  Join in as we discuss DVD trailer packages, terrible taglines, baffling accents, and the Teen Choice Awards.  Plus: Channing Tatum is back in theaters with Dog and The Lost City ,...

We're looking at bad romance in the 1975 sci-fi horror classic The Stepford Wives , based on the novel by Ira Levin.  Join in as we discuss star Katharine Ross, doppelgangers, robot boobs, TV sequels, and The Princess Switch 3 .  Plus: How does this adaptation compare to the 2004 remake starring Nicole Kidman? Why did Betty Friedan call on women to boycott it?  Why did screenwriter...

We're looking at a capital-R Romance this week as we dissect the sweeping midcentury romance in Eugene Ashe's underseen 2020 film Sylvie's Love , starring Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha.  Join in as we discuss songs of the summer, confident job-seeking, standardized tests, and the movie's charming love of television.  Plus: Why didn't this movie have more of an impact? Is it weird th...

Romance is back on the big screen (and also Peacock), so we're taking a look at Marry Me , the new movie starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson as a pop star and a math teacher who get spontaneously married during a concert.  Join in as we discuss the movie's surprisingly grounded plot, JLo's cultural moment, the loneliness of fame, and the resurgence of Ben Affleck.  Plus: Where was the officiat...

For the most love-loving day of the year, we're looking at more romances than we can handle in the first of Garry Marshall's holiday starstraganzas, Valentine's Day !  Join in as we discuss our own top V-Day stories, our favorite performances, Taylor Swift's film debut, and Marshall's rules for filmmaking.  Plus: Why is Anne Hathaway taking sex calls on her work phone? How does this movi...

We're continuing our look at the Best Picture nominees of 1988 with a look at Alan Parker's lily-white Civil Rights drama Mississippi Burning , starring Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as FBI agents investigating the murders of three Freedom Summer activists.  Join in as we discuss the trouble with movies clearly based on - but not telling the story of - a specific event, the film's portrayal o...

We're staring at ourselves in the mirror as we tackle the complex but minor romance of John Woo's 1997 action classic Face/Off , in which FBI agent John Travolta swaps faces with mercenary terrorist Nicolas Cage.  Join in as we discuss the Archer family's weird forms of affection, the mechanics of the face swap, the '97 box office, and, once again, the Nicole Kidman AMC video.  Plus: Wha...

We're looking at a listener suggestion with the premise of a joke in Edward Norton's directorial debut, the 2000 priest-rabbi-tech lady love triangle Keeping the Faith .  Join in as we discuss karaoke, The Incredible Hulk , a surprising dye job, and a pleasantly low-stakes romantic gesture.  Plus: What does Anna's company do? Will her finances survive the dot com bubble? Are garter cell...

We're dreaming of Manderley again as we take a look at the tortuous romance of Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's gothic romance Rebecca .  Join in as we discuss du Maurier's controversial life, Joan Fontaine's performance as the unnamed protagonist, Mrs. Danvers, and gambling at sea.  Plus: How did Hitchcock limit the interference of producer David O. Selznick? Wh...

We've unearthed a movie we've attempted to cover multiple times: the 2011 undead noir Dylan Dog: Dead of Night , adapted from the hit Italian comic book and starring erstwhile Superman Brandon Routh.  Join in as we discuss hyper-specific weapons, magnets, zombie fluids, spare mausoleums, and guest behavior we simply cannot believe.  Plus: How does Dylan decide which old technology to use? Why does...